During the Transcendental Meditation technique individuals often report the subjective experience of Transcendental Consciousness or pure consciousness, the state of least excitation of consciousness. This study found that many experiences of pure consciousness were associated with periods of natural respiratory suspension, and that during these respiratory suspension periods individuals displayed higher mean EEG coherence over all frequencies and brain areas, in contrast to control periods where subjects voluntarily held their breath. Reference: Psychosomatic Medicine 46: 267–276, 1984.
